Step four, moral inventory may be a bit lacking in conventional OA, and can be extended for OA+. I did not get relief until I also did an emotional inventory, and looked at what was driving me to eat. Not good enough, not big enough, not fast enough, not strong enough, not smart enough. All drilled in by parents until I believed it. Imprinted on my reactions were numerous automatic responses including eating, and overeating. It was not until I looked at secular spiritualism that I understood the true effect on my life of the Id, ego, superego, and the negative ego; the effect of collective ego, collective negative ego, and the collective superego.
To overcome these, first we need to understand them, and then they start to lose power over us. Once we become able to look at our ideas, realize that the mind built the ego, and can rebuild, modify, take apart sections; guided by the "I " part that is watching, the consciousness, the spirit. I am, we are, just spirits having a human experiences. We are part of the universe, and will change form, but always be part of the universe. We are mater and energy.
After we discover our negative ego, we can let go of it, for it was imprinted on us by the input of the collective ego and collective negative egos around us. The collective includes parents, siblings, relatives, teachers - everyone who we reacted with, and TV, newspapers, books, all external sources of learning. We also figure some stuff out on our own, and some of that is wrong. Now all we need do is sort out the wrong, and dispose of it. Keep the right.
The ego is constructed on the foundation of the mind, thinking. We just need to watch our thoughts and learn to test them, sort them, and let them go. Thoughts lead the body. As the Buddha said "We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts, we make the world."
Live in the Now.
Fred T
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